Maharashtra first to witness robotic kidney transplant

Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre here performed the first robotic kidney transplant surgery on a man suffering from renal failure, a hospital spokesperson said on Tuesday. Leena, 55, the wife of patient C.N. Murlidharan, donated one of her kidneys to enable him to live a normal life. The 59-year-old, who was on dialysis for the past 18 months, is now on the path of recovery after the surgery last Sunday.

Murlidharan was initially reluctant but agreed after the medicos persuaded him. The team of medicos was led by Head of Urology and Robotics Inderbir Gill, who is also Professor and Chair, USC Institute of Urology at the University of Southern California. “The family was apprised about the latest robotic technology, its benefits, lesser risk of post-operative infections, lesser pain, minimal blood loss and a faster return to normalcy,” said Gill.

“Moreover, it enables greater precision over vascular anastomosis owing to higher magnification and finer scaled movements of the robotic instruments,” he added. After the first such successful surgery in Maharashtra, both the patient and the donor are doing well, said Gill, adding Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre now aims to become the primary destination for robotic kidney transplants not only in Mumbai but the entire country.

The surgery team included consultant urologist P.P. Rao, consultant nephrologists Bharat Shah and Shruti Tapiawala. The da Vinci robot was used through keyhole incisions to anastomose the graft kidney vessels to the patient’s blood vessels using microvascular instruments and sutures.

The 360-degree movement of the robotic arms, suturing with fine tremor-free movements of the robotic instruments, helps in precise anastomosis and since the incision is not over the site of the graft kidney, infection chances are negligible and recovery is much faster, doctors said.